Evaporator with cool storage function

ABSTRACT

An evaporator with a cool storage function includes a cool storage material container disposed at least one of air-passing clearances formed between adjacent refrigerant flow tubes, and fins disposed in air-passing clearances on opposite sides of the cool storage material container. The cool storage material container includes a container body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes, and an outward extending portion which extends from the front edge of the container body portion and projects frontward in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes. Each of the fins has a fin body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes, and an outward extending portion which extends from the front edge of the fin body portion body and projects frontward in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes. The outward extending portions of the fins are brazed to opposite sides of the outward extending portion of the cool storage material container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an evaporator with a cool storagefunction for use in a car air conditioner for a vehicle in which anengine serving as a drive source for a compressor is temporarily stoppedwhen the vehicle is stopped.

In the present specification and appended claims, the upper and lowersides of FIG. 1 will be referred to as “upper” and “lower,”respectively.

In recent years, in order to protect the environment and improve fuelconsumption of automobiles, there has been proposed an automobiledesigned to automatically stop the engine when the automobile stops, forexample, so as to wait for a traffic light to change.

Incidentally, an ordinary car air conditioner has a problem in that,when an engine of an automobile in which the air conditioner is mountedis stopped, a compressor driven by the engine is stopped, and supply ofrefrigerant to an evaporator stops, whereby the cooling capacity of theair conditioner sharply drops.

As one measure to solve such a problem, imparting a cool storagefunction to the evaporator has been considered, to thereby enablecooling of a vehicle compartment by making use of cool stored in theevaporator, when the compressor stops as a result of stoppage of theengine.

An evaporator with a cool storage function has been proposed (see, forexample, Japanese Patent No. 4043776). The proposed evaporator includesa pair of refrigerant header sections disposed apart from each other,and a plurality of flat refrigerant flow tubes disposed between the tworefrigerant header sections such that their width direction coincideswith an air-passing direction, and they are spaced from one another inthe longitudinal direction of the refrigerant header sections. Oppositeends of the refrigerant flow tubes are connected to the two refrigerantheader sections, respectively. The evaporator further includes aplurality of hollow cool storage material containers disposed such thattheir width direction coincides with the air-passing direction. Each ofthe cool storage material containers is fixedly provided on one side ofa corresponding refrigerant flow tube and contains a cool storagematerial therein. The dimension of each cool storage material containerin the thickness direction thereof is made uniform over the entirety ofthe cool storage material container. A plurality of sets each composedof refrigerant flow tubes and a cool storage material container aredisposed apart from one another, and a space between adjacent pairs eachcomposed of refrigerant flow tubes and a cool storage material containerserves as an air-passing clearance. A fin is disposed in the air-passingclearance, and is joined to the refrigerant flow tubes and the coolstorage material container.

In the case of the evaporator with a cool storage function disclosed inthe publication, when refrigerant of low temperature flows through therefrigerant flow tubes, cool is stored in the cool storage materialwithin the cool storage material container.

However, the evaporator with a cool storage function disclosed in thepublication has a problem in that, as compared with an ordinaryevaporator which has the same effective core area and which does not hasa cool storage material container, the number of refrigerant flow tubesdecreases, whereby cooling performance deteriorates.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem of the evaporator with acool storage function disclosed in the publication, the presentapplicant has proposed an evaporator with a cool storage function inwhich a plurality of flat refrigerant flow tube portions which extend inthe vertical direction and whose width direction coincides with anair-passing direction are disposed in parallel such that they are spacedapart from one another; air-passing clearances are formed betweenadjacent refrigerant flow tube portions; a cool storage materialcontainer filled with a cool storage material is disposed in each ofsome air-passing clearances selected from all the air-passingclearances, the selected air-passing clearances being not adjacent toone another; and fins are disposed in the remaining air-passingclearances (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No.2010-149814).

However, the evaporator with a cool storage function disclosed in thepublication has the following problem. Effective ways of increasing thequantity of a cool storage material charging into a cool storagematerial container, without changing the size of the heat exchange coresection, to thereby improve cooling storage performance are increasingthe number of cool storage material containers and increasing all thecontainer heights of the entire cool storage material containers.However, in either case, the air passage area of the air-passingclearances decreases, and air-passing resistance increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and toprovide an evaporator with a cool storage function which can restrain anincrease in air-passing resistance, as compared with the evaporator witha cool storage function disclosed in the publication, while restrainingdeterioration of cooling performance.

To fulfill the above object, the present invention comprises thefollowing modes.

1) An evaporator with a cool storage function in which a plurality ofvertically extending flat refrigerant flow tubes are disposed inparallel such that their width direction coincides with an air-passingdirection and they are spaced from one another, air-passing clearancesare formed such that each air-passing clearance is provided betweenadjacent refrigerant flow tubes, a cool storage material containerfilled with a cool storage material is disposed in at least one of theair-passing clearances, and outer fins are disposed in the remainingair-passing clearances, wherein

the cool storage material container includes a container body portionjoined to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes, and an outwardextending portion which extends from a downstream-side edge of thecontainer body portion and projects downstream in relation to therefrigerant flow tubes;

an outer fin disposed in an air-passing clearance adjacent to theair-passing clearance in which the cool storage material container isdisposed has a fin body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerantflow tubes, and an outward extending portion which extends from adownstream-side edge of the fin body portion body and projectsdownstream in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes; and

the outward extending portion of the outer fin is in contact with acorresponding side surface of the outward extending portion of the coolstorage material container.

2) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein each of the outer fins disposed in air-passing clearanceslocated on opposite sides of the air-passing clearance in which the coolstorage material container is disposed has the fin body portion and theoutward extending portion; and the outward extending portions of theouter fins are in contact with the opposite side surfaces of the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container.

3) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the outward extending portion of the cool storage materialcontainer bulges over the entire length in the vertical direction, theoutward extending portion bulging outward in relation to the containerbody portion with respect to a direction along which the refrigerantflow tubes are arrayed; and the outward extending portion has adimension in a thickness direction thereof greater than a dimension ofthe container body portion in a thickness direction thereof.

4) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the outward extending portion of the cool storage materialcontainer has a base portion whose dimension in a thickness directionthereof is equal to a dimension of the container body portion in athickness direction thereof, and a plurality of projecting portionswhich are provided on the base portion such that the projecting portionsare spaced from one another in the vertical direction and which bulgeoutward from the base portion with respect to a direction along whichthe refrigerant flow tubes are arrayed.

5) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the outward extending portion of the corresponding outer fin isbrazed to the outward extending portion of the cool storage materialcontainer.

6) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the cool storage material container is composed of two metalplates whose peripheral edge portions are joined together; and thecontainer body portion and the outward extending portion of the coolstorage material container are provided by means of outward bulging atleast one of the two metal plates.

7) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein an inner fin extending from the container body portion to theoutward extending portion of the cool storage material container isdisposed in the cool storage material container.

8) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 7),wherein the inner fin assumes a corrugated shape, and has crest portionsextending in the air-passing direction, trough portions extending in theair-passing direction, and connection portions connecting the crestportions and the trough portions.

9) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 7),wherein the inner fin assumes a staggered shape, and is composed of aplurality of corrugated strips, each of which has crest portionsextending in the air-passing direction, trough portions extending in theair-passing direction, and connection portions connecting the crestportion and the trough portion, the corrugated strips being arranged inthe air-passing direction and integrally connected with one another suchthat the crest portions and the trough portions of one of two stripsadjacent to each other in the air-passing direction are positionallyshifted in the vertical direction from those of the other strip.

10) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the container body portion of the cool storage materialcontainer is brazed to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes; andgrooves are formed in portions of outer surfaces of the container bodyportion of the cool storage material container, which portions arebrazed to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes.

11) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 10),wherein the grooves formed in each of the portions of the outer surfacesof the container body portion of the cool storage material container,which portions are brazed to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes,form a grid.

12) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),comprising a plurality of refrigerant flow tube sets each including aplurality of flat refrigerant flow tubes disposed such that their widthdirection coincides with the air-passing direction and they are spacedfrom one another in the air-passing direction; and the container bodyportion of the cool storage material container is disposed to extendover all the refrigerant flow tubes of the corresponding set, and isjoined to the refrigerant flow tubes.

13) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein the container body portion of the cool storage materialcontainer has an internal-volume reducing portion which is formedthrough partial inward deformation of a wall of the cool storagematerial container and which reduces an internal volume of the coolstorage material container.

14) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 13),wherein the internal-volume reducing portion of the container bodyportion of the cool storage material container is configured to bulgedue to an increase in internal pressure when the internal-volumereducing portion is exposed to a high temperature exceeding atemperature range of use environment.

15) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein a cool storage material charging ratio, which is the ratio ofthe volume of the charged cool storage material to the internal volumeof the cool storage material container is 70 to 90%.

16) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 15),wherein the cool storage material charging ratio is 70 to 80%.

17) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 1),wherein each of the refrigerant flow tubes in thermal contact with thecool storage material container has a plurality of refrigerant flowchannels which are arranged in the width direction of the refrigerantflow tube and are separated from one another by partitions; and

a relation 0.1 ≦t≦0.4 and a relation 0.64≦h/H≦0.86 are satisfied, wheret represents a thickness (mm) of each partition, h represents a height(mm) of each partition, and H represents a tube height (mm), which is adimension of each refrigerant flow tube in a thickness directionthereof.

18) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 17),wherein a relation 0.0 ≦(n×t)/W≦0.31 is satisfied, where n representsthe number of the partitions of each refrigerant flow tube, and Wrepresents a width (mm) of each refrigerant flow tube.

19) An evaporator with a cool storage function according to par. 17),wherein the tube height H of each refrigerant flow tube is 12 to 25 mm,and the width W of each refrigerant flow tube is 1.3 to 3.0 mm.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of any one ofpars. 1) to 19), the cool storage material container includes acontainer body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerant flowtubes, and an outward extending portion which extends from adownstream-side edge of the container body portion and projectsdownstream in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes. Therefore, thequantity of the cool storage material which can be charged into one coolstorage material container can be increased by an amount correspondingto the internal volume of the outward extending portion, as comparedwith the cool storage material container of the evaporator with a coolstorage function disclosed in the above-described publication.Accordingly, even when the quantity of the cool storage material chargedinto the cool storage material container is increased without changingthe size of the heat change core section, it is unnecessary to increasethe number of the cool storage material containers and all the containerheights of the entire storage material containers. Therefore, ascompared with the evaporator with a cool storage function disclosed inthe above-described publication, a decrease in the air passing area ofthe air-passing clearances can be restrained, whereby an increase inair-passing resistance can be restrained.

In addition, a plurality of vertically extending flat refrigerant flowtubes are disposed in parallel such that their width direction coincideswith an air-passing direction and they are spaced from one another,air-passing clearances are formed such that each air-passing clearanceis provided between adjacent refrigerant flow tubes, a cool storagematerial container filled with a cool storage material is disposed ineach of at least some of all the air-passing clearances which are notadjacent to one another, and outer fins are disposed in the remainingair-passing clearances. Therefore, even when the effective core area ismade equal to that of the evaporator with a cool storage functiondisclosed in the above-described publication, the number of therefrigerant flow tubes does not decreases. Accordingly, deterioration ofcooling performance can be restrained.

Moreover, an outer fin disposed in an air-passing clearance adjacent tothe air-passing clearance in which the cool storage material containerhas a fin body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerant flowtubes, and an outward extending portion which extends from adownstream-side edge of the fin body portion body and projectsdownstream in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes; and the outwardextending portion of the outer fin is in contact with a correspondingside surface of the outward extending portion of the cool storagematerial container. When cool is stored in the cool storage materialwithin the cool storage material container upon operation of acompressor, the cool storage material is cooled by refrigerant flowingthrough the refrigerant flow tubes, and is also cooled by air whichflows through the air-passing clearances and whose temperature islowered. Therefore, the cool storage material can be cooled efficiently,whereby cool storage performance is enhanced. Meanwhile, when thecompressor stops as a result of stoppage of an engine, the cool storedin the cool storage material within the container body portion of thecool storage material container is transferred to air passing throughthe adjacent air-passing clearances via the refrigerant flow tubeslocated on the opposite sides of the cool storage material container,and the cool stored in the cool storage material within the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container is transferredfrom the outward extending portion to the outer fin joined to one sidesurface of the outward extending portion, and then transferred to airpassing through the air-passing clearance in which the outer fin isdisposed. Therefore, cool release performance is enhanced.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 2),both cool storage performance (performance of storing cool in the coolstorage material within the cool storage material container when thecompressor operates) and cool release performance (performance ofreleasing cool from the cool storage material within the cool storagematerial container when the compressor stops) are enhanced further.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of each ofpars. 3) and 4), the quantity of the cool storage material within thecool storage container can be increased further.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 4), theheat transfer area between the opposite side walls of the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container and the coolstorage material within the outward extending portion increases.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 6), thecool storage material container can be manufactured relatively easily.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 7), aninner fin extending from the container body portion to the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container is disposed inthe cool storage material container. Therefore, the cool storagematerial within the outward extending portion is also cooled quickly byrefrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow tubes. Accordingly, thecool storage material within the cool storage material container can becooled efficiently.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of each ofpars. 8) and 9), the cool storage material within the outward extendingportion is cooled more effectively by refrigerant flowing through therefrigerant flow tubes.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of each ofpars. 10) and 11), a melted flux or melted brazing filler materialbecomes more likely to flow through the grooves over the entireinterface between the container body portion of the cool storagematerial container and the refrigerant flow tubes. Therefore, thecontainer body portion of the cool storage material container and therefrigerant flow tubes can be brazed more reliably.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of each ofpars. 13) and 14), the container body portion of the cool storagematerial container has an internal-volume reducing portion which isformed through partial inward deformation of a wall of the cool storagematerial container and which reduces the internal volume of the coolstorage material container. Therefore, the internal volume of the coolstorage material container decreases as compared with the case where theinternal-volume reducing portion is not provided. As a result, even whenthe quantity of the cool storage material charged into the cool storagematerial container is determined to attain a cool storage materialcharging ratio suitable for the case where the internal-volume reducingportion is not provided (e.g., 70 to 90%), the cool storage materialexists even in the vicinity of the upper end of the cool storagematerial container. Therefore, cool can be stored even in the vicinityof the upper end of the cool storage material container. Thus, when thecompressor stops, an increase in the temperature of air flowing throughportions of the air-passing clearances corresponding to the vicinity ofthe upper end of the cool storage material container can be restrained,whereby variation of discharge air temperature, which is the temperatureof air having passed through the evaporator with a cool storagefunction, can be restrained.

Even the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 13) or 14) isdesigned such that within an ordinary temperature range of useenvironment (e.g., −40 to 90° C.), the cool storage material containerdoes not break even when the internal pressure increases because of achange in the density of the cool storage material in the liquid phase,and thermal expansion of air remaining in the cool storage materialcontainer. When the cool storage material container is exposed to atemperature (e.g., 100° C.) higher than the ordinary temperature rangeof use environment, the change in the density of the liquid-phase coolstorage material and the thermal expansion of air remaining in the coolstorage material container become remarkable, whereby the internalpressure of the cool storage material container increases excessively.In such a case, the internal-volume reducing portion of the cool storagematerial container deforms through bulging, whereby breakage of the coolstorage material container due to an increase in the internal pressureof the cool storage material container can be prevented. In addition,since the strength of the internal-volume reducing portion is lower thanthat of the remaining portion, when the cool storage material containeris exposed to a higher temperature, the cool storage material containerbreaks at the internal-volume reducing portion, and the cool storagematerial leaks. However, since leakage of the cool storage materialoccurs at a previously determined location (the internal-volume reducingportion), the leaked cool storage material can be coped relativelyeasily.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of each ofpars. 15) and 16), breakage of the cool storage material container dueto the internal pressure thereof can be prevented even when the densityof the liquid-phase cool storage material changes and air remaining inthe cool storage material container expands within the temperature rangeof use environment (e.g., −40 to 90° C.).

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 16),breakage of the cool storage material container due to the internalpressure thereof within the temperature range of use environment can beprevented effectively.

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of any one ofpars. 17) to 19), when cool is stored, cool is efficiently transferredfrom refrigerant flowing through the flow channels of the refrigerantflow tubes to the opposite side surfaces of the cool storage materialcontainer, and, when cool is released, the cool stored in the coolstorage material within the cool storage material container efficientlypasses through the refrigerant flow tubes in the tube height direction,whereby both cool storage performance and cool release performancebecome excellent. In addition, cooling performance at the time ofordinary cooling when the compressor is operating is not sacrificed

According to the evaporator with a cool storage function of par. 18),both cool storage performance and cool release performance become moreexcellent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away perspective view showing the overallstructure of an evaporator with a cool storage function according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a cool storage materialcontainer of the evaporator with a cool storage function of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationperformed for determining a cool storage material charging ratio, whichis the ratio of the volume of a charged cool storage material to theinternal volume of the cool storage material container;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationwhich is different from that shown in FIG. 4 and is performed fordetermining the cool storage material charging ratio, which is the ratioof the volume of the charged cool storage material to the internalvolume of the cool storage material container;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationperformed for determining the thickness of the partitions of eachrefrigerant flow tube;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationwhich is different from that shown in FIG. 6 and is performed fordetermining the thickness of the partitions of each refrigerant flowtube;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationperformed for determining the ratio of the height of the partitions to atube height, which is a dimension of each refrigerant flow tube in thethickness direction thereof;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing results of computer simulation calculationwhich is different from that shown in FIG. 8 and is performed fordetermining the ratio of the height of the partitions to the tubeheight, which is the dimension of each refrigerant flow tube in thethickness direction thereof;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a first modification ofthe cool storage material container;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a second modification ofthe cool storage material container; and

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing a third modification ofthe cool storage material container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will next be described withreference to the drawings. Notably, the same reference numerals are usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same portions and members, andtheir repeated descriptions are omitted.

In the following description, the downstream side with respect to anair-passing direction (a direction represented by arrow X in FIGS. 1 and2) will be referred to as the “front,” and the opposite side as the“rear.” Further, the left-hand and right-hand sides as viewed rearwardfrom the front side; i.e., the left-hand and right-hand sides of FIG. 1,will be referred to as “left” and “right,” respectively.

Furthermore, the term “aluminum” as used in the following descriptionencompasses aluminum alloys in addition to pure aluminum.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an evaporator with a coolstorage function according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3show the configuration of an essential portion of the evaporator.

As shown in FIG. 1, an evaporator with a cool storage function 1includes a first header tank 2 and a second header tank 3 formed ofaluminum and disposed apart from each other in the vertical directionsuch that they extend in the left-right direction; and a heat exchangecore section 4 provided between the two header tanks 2 and 3.

The first header tank 2 includes a refrigerant inlet header section 5located on the front side (downstream side with respect to theair-passing direction); and a refrigerant outlet header section 6located on the rear side (upstream side with respect to the air-passingdirection) and united with the refrigerant inlet header section 5. Arefrigerant inlet 7 is provided at the right end of the refrigerantinlet header section 5, and a refrigerant outlet 8 is provided at rightend of the refrigerant outlet header section 6. The second header tank 3includes a first intermediate header section 9 located on the frontside, and a second intermediate header section 11 located on the rearside and united with the first intermediate header section 9. Therespective interiors of the first and second intermediate headersections 9 and 11 of the second header tank 3 are connected together viaa communication member 12 which extends across and is joined to theright ends of the intermediate header sections 9 and 11 and which has aflow passage formed therein.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the heat exchange core section 4, aplurality of flat refrigerant flow tubes 13 which extend in the verticaldirection, whose width direction coincides with the air-passingdirection (the front-rear direction), and which are formed of aluminumextrudate are disposed in parallel such that they are spaced from eachother in the left-right direction. That is, a plurality of pairs 14 eachcomposed of a plurality of (in the present embodiment, two) refrigerantflow tubes 13 spaced from one another in the front-rear direction aredisposed at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction. Anair-passing clearance 15 is formed between adjacent two of the pairs 14each composed of the front and rear refrigerant flow tube 13. An upperend portion of each front refrigerant flow tube 13 is connected to therefrigerant inlet header section 5, and a lower end portion of eachfront refrigerant flow tube 13 is connected to the first intermediateheader section 9. Similarly, an upper end portion of each rearrefrigerant flow tube 13 is connected to the refrigerant outlet headersection 6, and a lower end portion of each rear refrigerant flow tube 13is connected to the second intermediate header section 11.

Each refrigerant flow tube 13 includes a plurality of refrigerant flowchannels 33 which are arranged in the width direction of the refrigerantflow tube 13 (the front-rear direction), and are separated from oneanother by partitions 34. When the thickness of each partition 34 isrepresented by t (mm), the height of each partition 34 is represented byh (mm), and a tube height, which is the dimension of each refrigerantflow tube 13 in the thickness direction thereof, is represented by H(mm), preferably, a relation 0.1≦t≦0.4 and a relation 0.64≦h/H≦0.86 aresatisfied. Furthermore, when the number of the partitions 34 of eachrefrigerant flow tube 13 is represented by n and the width of eachrefrigerant flow tube 13 is represented W (mm), preferably, a relation0.07≦(n×t)/W≦0.31 is satisfied. Notably, preferably, the tube height Hof each refrigerant flow tube 13 is 12 to 25 mm, and the width W of eachrefrigerant flow tube 13 is 1.3 to 3.0 mm.

A cool storage material container 16 formed of aluminum filled with acool storage material (not shown) is disposed in each of air-passingclearances 15 selected from all the air-passing clearances 15, theselected passing clearances 15 being not adjacent from one another, suchthat the cool storage material container 16 extends over the front andrear refrigerant flow tubes 13 of the corresponding pairs 14. Also, acorrugated outer fin 17, which is formed from an aluminum brazing sheethaving a brazing material layer on each of opposite surfaces thereof, isdisposed in each of the remaining air-passing clearances 15 such thatthe corrugated outer fin 17 extends over the front and rear refrigerantflow tubes 13 of the corresponding pairs 14. The corrugated outer fin 17disposed in each air-passing clearance 15 is brazed to the front andrear refrigerant flow tubes 13 of the left-side and right-side pairs 14which define the air-passing clearance 15. That is, the outer fin 17 isdisposed in each of the air-passing clearances 15 located on both sidesof the air-passing clearance 15 in which the cool storage materialcontainer 16 is disposed. Also, the outer fin 17, which is formed froman aluminum brazing sheet having a brazing material layer on each ofopposite surfaces thereof, is disposed on the outer side of the pair 14of the refrigerant flow tubes 13 located at the left end, and isdisposed on the outer side of the pair 14 of the refrigerant flow tubes13 located at the right end. These outer fins 17 are brazed to thecorresponding front and rear refrigerant flow tubes 13. Furthermore, aside plate 18 formed of aluminum is disposed on the outer side of eachof the outer fins 17 located at the left and right ends, respectively,and is brazed to the corresponding outer fin 17.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each cool storage material container 16includes a container main body portion 21 and an outward extendingportion 22. The container main body portion 21 is located rearward ofthe front edges of the front refrigerant flow tubes 13, and is brazed tothe front and rear refrigerant flow tubes 13 of the corresponding pairs14. The outward extending portion 22 extends frontward from the frontedge of the container body portion 21, and projects frontward(downstream) in relation to the front edges of the front rearrefrigerant flow tubes 13. The container body portion 21 of the coolstorage material container 16 has a constant dimension in the thicknessdirection (the left-right direction) over the entirety thereof. Theoutward extending portion 22 of the cool storage material container 16has a dimension in the vertical direction equal to that of the containerbody portion 21, has a dimension in the left-right direction greaterthan that of the container body portion 21, and bulges in relation tothe container body portion 21 to the outer side with respect to theleft-right direction (the outer side with respect to the direction alongwhich the refrigerant flow tubes 13 are arranged). The dimension of theoutward extending portion 22 in the left-right direction is equal to avalue obtained by adding the dimension of the container body portion 21of the cool storage material container 16 in the left-right direction toa tube height, which is the dimension of each refrigerant flow tube 13in the thickness direction (the left-right direction). For example, aparaffin-based latent heat storage material having an adjusted freezingpoint of about 5 to 10° C. is used as a cool storage material chargedinto the cool storage material container 16. Specifically, pentadecane,tetradecane, or the like is used. The quantity of the cool storagematerial charged into the cool storage material container 16 isdesirably determined such that the cool storage material fills theinterior of the cool storage material container 16 to a point near theupper end thereof. For example, a cool storage material charging ratio,which is the ratio of the volume of the charged cool storage material tothe internal volume of the cool storage material container 16, ispreferably 70 to 90%, more preferably, 70 to 80%. Notably, the coolstorage material charging ratio is that at room temperature.

The reason why it is preferred that the cool storage material chargingratio, which is the ratio of the volume of the charged cool storagematerial to the internal volume of one sealed internal space 16 a of thecool storage material container 16, is set to 70 to 90% is that resultsas shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 were obtained through computer simulationcalculation.

Computer simulation calculation, the results of which are shown in FIG.4, was performed for the case where pentadecane was used as a coolstorage material, and the ambient temperature at the time of charging(at the beginning) was 20° C. The calculation was performed, while thecharging ratio of the cool storage material charged into the coolstorage material container 16 and the temperature of the atmosphere inwhich the cool storage material container was disposed were changed.

Computer simulation calculation, the results of which are shown in FIG.5, was performed for the case where pentadecane was used as a coolstorage material, under the conditions that the temperature of airflowing into the evaporator (1) with a cool storage function was 25° C.,the relative humidity (RH) of the air was 50%, and the quantity of airas measured on the upstream side of the evaporator 1 with a cool storagefunction was 200 m³/h. The calculation was performed, while the chargingratio of the cool storage material charged into the cool storagematerial container 16 was changed.

The horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 4 shows the temperatureof the atmosphere in which the cool storage material container 16 wasdisposed (ambient temperature), and the vertical axis thereof representsthe internal pressure of the cool storage material container 16. Thehorizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 5 shows a cool storage timerequired to store a required quantity of cool in the cool storagematerial within the cool storage material container 16, and the verticalaxis thereof represents a cool release time over which a requiredquantity of cool is released from the cool storage material within thecool storage material container 16.

The graph shown in FIG. 4 reveals that, only in the case where thecharging ratio of the cool storage material charged into the coolstorage material container 16 is equal to or less than 90%, a sharpincrease in the internal pressure can be prevented even at an ambienttemperature higher than 90° C., which is the upper limit of an ordinarytemperature range of for use of a car air conditioner including theevaporator 1 with a cool storage function. Also, the graph shown in FIG.5 reveals that, only in the case where the charging ratio of the coolstorage material charged into the cool storage material container 16 isequal to or greater than 70%, a required cool release time (T) can beattained by a relatively short cool storage time.

The cool storage material container 16 is composed of two generallyrectangular aluminum plates 24 and 25, each of which is formed, throughpress work, from an aluminum brazing sheet having a brazing materiallayer on each of opposite sides thereof, and whose peripheral edgeportions are brazed together. A first bulging portion 26 bulgingrightward is provided over a portion of the right-hand-side aluminumplate 24, which constitutes the cool storage material container 16, theportion forming the container body portion 21; i.e., the greater portionof the right-hand-side aluminum plate 24 excluding a front portionthereof. Similarly, a second bulging portion 27 is provided over aportion of the right-hand-side aluminum plate 24 forming the outwardextending portion 22; i.e., the front portion of the right-hand-sidealuminum plate 24, such that the second bulging portion 27 extends overthe entire length in the vertical direction. The second bulging portion27 extends frontward from the first bulging portion 26, bulgesrightward, and has a bulging height greater than that of the firstbulging portion 26. Furthermore, grooves 28 are formed, in a grid-likepattern, on an outer surface of the portion of the right-hand-sidealuminum plate 24 forming the container body portion 21, in regions towhich the refrigerant flow tubes 13 are brazed. The left-hand-sidealuminum plate 25, which constitutes the cool storage material container16, has a shape which is a mirror image of the shape of theright-hand-side aluminum plate 24, and the same portions are denoted bythe same reference numerals.

The two aluminum plates 24 and 25 are assembled and brazed together suchthat openings of the first and second bulging portions 26 and 27 faceeach other, whereby the cool storage material container 16 is formed.The first bulging portions 26 of the two aluminum plates 24 and 25 formthe container body portion 21, and the second bulging portions 27 of thetwo aluminum plates 24 and 25 form the outward extending portion 22.

An inner fin 29 made of aluminum and extending from the rear end of thecontainer body portion 21 to the front end of the outward extendingportion 22 is disposed in the cool storage material container 16 suchthat the inner fin 29 extends over substantially the entirety of thecool storage material container 16 in the vertical direction. The innerfin 29 assumes a corrugated shape, and has crest portions extending inthe front-rear direction, trough portions extending in the front-reardirection, and connection portions connecting the crest portions and thetrough portions. The inner fin 29 has a constant fin height over theentirety thereof, and is brazed to the inner surfaces of left and rightwalls of the container body portion 21 of the cool storage materialcontainer 16.

Each of the outer fins 17 assumes a corrugated shape, and has crestportions extending in the front-rear direction, trough portionsextending in the front-rear direction, and connection portionsconnecting the crest portions and the trough portions. Each of the outerfins 17 has a fin body portion 31 and an outward extending portion 32.The fin body portion 31 is located rearward of the front edges of thefront refrigerant flow tubes 13, and is brazed to the front and rearrefrigerant flow tubes 13 of the corresponding pairs 14. The outwardextending portion 32 extends from the front edge of the fin body portion31, and projects frontward in relation to the front edges of the frontrefrigerant flow tubes 13 (outward in the air-passing direction). Theoutward extending portions 32 of the outer fins 17 disposed in twoair-passing clearances 15 located adjacent to and on opposite sides ofeach air-passing clearance 15 in which the cool storage materialcontainer 16 is disposed are brazed to the left and right side surfacesof the outward extending portion 22 of the cool storage materialcontainer 16. Furthermore, a spacer 35 made of aluminum is disposedbetween the outward extending portions 32 of adjacent ones of the outerfins 17, and is brazed to the outward extending portions 32.

The above-described evaporator 1 with a cool storage functionconstitutes a refrigeration cycle in combination with a compressordriven by an engine of a vehicle, a condenser (refrigerant cooler) forcooling the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and an expansionvalve (pressure-reducing unit) for reducing the pressure of therefrigerant having passed through the condenser. The refrigeration cycleis installed, as a car air conditioner, in a vehicle, such as anautomobile, which temporarily stops the engine, which serves as a drivesource of the compressor, when the vehicle is stopped. In the case ofsuch a car air conditioner, when the compressor is operating, lowpressure, two-phase refrigerant (a mixture of vapor refrigerant andliquid refrigerant) having been compressed by the compressor and havingpassed through the condenser and the expansion valve passes through therefrigerant inlet 7, and enters the inlet header section 5 of theevaporator 1. The refrigerant then passes through all the frontrefrigerant flow tubes 13, and enters the first intermediate headersection 9. The refrigerant having entered the first intermediate headersection 9 passes through the communication member 12, and enters thesecond intermediate header section 11. After that, the refrigerantpasses through all the rear refrigerant flow tubes 13, enters the outletheader section 6, and flows out via the refrigerant outlet 8. When therefrigerant flows through the refrigerant flow tubes 13, the refrigerantperforms heat exchange with air passing through the air-passingclearances 15, and flows out of the refrigerant flow tubes 13 in a vaporphase.

At that time, the cool storage material within the container bodyportion 21 of each cool storage material container 16 is cooled by therefrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow tubes 13, and the coolstored in the cooled cool storage material within the container bodyportion 21 is transferred to the cool storage material within theoutward extending portion 22 of the cool storage material container 16via the inner fin 29. Furthermore, the cool storage material within theoutward extending portion 22 of the cool storage material container 16is cooled by air having been cooled by the refrigerant while passingthrough the air-passing clearances 15. As a result, cool is stored inthe entire cool storage material within the cool storage materialcontainer 16.

When the compressor stops, the cool stored in the cool storage materialwithin the container body portion 21 and outward extending portion 22 ofeach cool storage material container 16 is transferred to the left andright walls of the container body portion 21 and outward extendingportion 22 via the inner fine 29. The cool transferred to the left andright walls of the container body portion 21 is transferred to airpassing through the corresponding air-passing clearances 15 via thecorresponding refrigerant flow tubes 13 and the fin body portions 31 ofthe outer fins 17 brazed to the refrigerant flow tubes 13. The cooltransferred to the left and right walls of the outward extending portion22 is transferred to air passing through the corresponding air-passingclearance 15 via the outward extending portions 32 of the outer fins 17brazed to the left and right side surfaces of the outward extendingportion 22. Accordingly, even when the temperature of air having passedthrough the evaporator 1 increases, the air is cooled, so that a sharpdrop in the cooling capacity can be prevented.

As described above, when the thickness of the partitions 34 of therefrigerant flow tubes 13 is represented by t (mm), satisfaction of therelation 0.1≦t≦0.4 is preferred, because the results as shown in FIGS. 6and 7 were obtained through computer simulation calculation. Thiscomputer simulation calculation was performed, while the thickness t ofthe partitions 34 was changed under the conditions that the width W ofthe refrigerant flow tubes 13 was 16.95 mm, the tube height H thereofwas 1.4 mm, and the number n of the partitions 34 was 13.

The left side vertical axis of the graph shown in FIG. 6 represents theaverage temperature of air having passed through the heat exchange coresection 4 during a cool release period in which the compressor stops,and cool is released from the cool storage material within the coolstorage material container 16. The left side vertical axis of the graphshown in FIG. 7 represents the quantity of moving cool which istransferred to each cool storage material container 16, via thecorresponding refrigerant flow tubes 13, from the outer fins 17 disposedin the air-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passing clearance15 in which the cool storage material container 16 is disposed, during acool storage period in which the compressor operates, and cool is storedin the cool storage material within the cool storage material container16. The right side vertical axes of the graphs shown in FIGS. 6 and 7each represent the quantity of moving cool transferred from each coolstorage material container 16, via the corresponding refrigerant flowtubes 13, to the outer fins 17 disposed in the air-passing clearances 15adjacent to the air-passing clearance 15 in which the cool storagematerial container 16 is disposed, during a cool release period in whichthe compressor stops, and cool is released from the cool storagematerial within the cool storage material container 16. The graph shownin FIG. 6 reveals that, when the thickness of the partitions 34 is 0.1to 0.4 mm, the average temperature of air having passed through the heatchange core section 4 at the time of cool release decreases efficiently.When the thickness of the partitions 34 exceeds 0.4 mm, the degree ofdrop of the average temperature decreases. Also, the graph shown in FIG.7 reveals that, when the thickness of the partitions 34 is 0.1 to 0.4mm, excellent cool storage performance and excellent cool releaseperformance are attained. That is, during a cool storage period, a largequantity of cool is transferred to each cool storage material container16, via the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes 13, from the outer fins17 disposed in the air-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passingclearance 15 in which the cool storage material container 16 isdisposed, whereby excellent cool storage performance is attained; andduring a cool storage period, a large quantity of cool is transferredfrom each cool storage material container 16, via the correspondingrefrigerant flow tubes 13, to the outer fins 17 disposed in theair-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passing clearance 15 inwhich the cool storage material container 16 is disposed, wherebyexcellent cool release performance is attained. Notably, the reason whythe lower limit of the thickness t of the partitions 34 is set to 0.1 mmis that, when the thickness of the partitions 34 is less than 0.1 mm,manufacture becomes difficult.

Also, when the tube height, which is the dimension of the refrigerantflow tubes 13 in the thickness direction, is represented by H (mm) andthe height of the partitions is represented by h (mm), satisfaction ofthe relation 0.64≦h/H≦0.86 is preferred, because the results as shown inFIGS. 8 and 9 were obtained through computer simulation calculation.This computer simulation calculation was performed, while the ratio ofthe height h of the partitions 34 to the tube height H was changed,under the conditions that the width W of the refrigerant flow tubes 13was 16.95 mm, the tube height H thereof was 1.4 mm, the number n of thepartitions 34 was 13, and the thickness t of the partitions 34 was 0.2mm.

The left side vertical axis of the graph shown in FIG. 8 represents theaverage temperature of air having passed through the heat exchange coresection 4 during a cool release period in which the compressor stops,and cool is released from the cool storage material within the coolstorage material container 16. The left side vertical axis of the graphshown in FIG. 9 represents the quantity of moving cool which istransferred to each cool storage material container 16, via thecorresponding refrigerant flow tubes 13, from the outer fins 17 disposedin the air-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passing clearance15 in which the cool storage material container 16 is disposed, during acool storage period in which the compressor operates, and cool is storedin the cool storage material within the cool storage material container16. The right side vertical axes of the graphs shown in FIGS. 8 and 9each represent the quantity of moving cool transferred from each coolstorage material container 16, via the corresponding refrigerant flowtubes 13, to the outer fins 17 disposed in the air-passing clearances 15adjacent to the air-passing clearance 15 in which the cool storagematerial container 16 is disposed, during a cool release period in whichthe compressor stops, and cool is released from the cool storagematerial within the cool storage material container 16. The graph shownin FIG. 8 reveals that, when the ratio h/H is 0.64 to 0.86, the averagetemperature of air having passed through the heat change core section 4at the time of cool release decreases efficiently. When the ratio isless than 0.64, the degree of drop of the average temperature decreases.Also, the graph shown in FIG. 9 reveals that, when the ratio h/H is 0.64to 0.86, excellent cool storage performance and excellent cool releaseperformance are attained. That is, during a cool storage period, a largequantity of cool is transferred to each cool storage material container16, via the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes 13, from the outer fins17 disposed in the air-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passingclearance 15 in which the cool storage material container 16 isdisposed, whereby excellent cool storage performance is attained; andduring a cool storage period, a large quantity of cool is transferredfrom each cool storage material container 16, via the correspondingrefrigerant flow tubes 13, to the outer fins 17 disposed in theair-passing clearances 15 adjacent to the air-passing clearance 15 inwhich the cool storage material container 16 is disposed, wherebyexcellent cool release performance is attained. Notably, the reason whythe upper limit of the ratio h/H is set to 0.86 is that, when the ratioh/H exceeds the limit, manufacture becomes difficult.

The above-described embodiment may be modified such that, as in the caseof a so-called laminate-type evaporator, the refrigerant flow tubes ofthe evaporator with a cool storage function are provided in flat hollowbodies each formed of two aluminum plates which face each other andwhose peripheral edge portions are brazed together. That is, each of therefrigerant flow tubes may be one formed between the two aluminum plateswhich constitute the flat hollow body and having a bulged shape.

The above-described evaporator 1 with a cool storage function may bedisposed in an inclined posture such that the upper ends of therefrigerant flow tubes 13 and the cool storage material containers 16 ofthe heat exchange core section 4 are located on the upstream side or thedownstream side (for example, upstream side) in relation to the lowerends thereof. In this case, preferably, the height of the liquid levelof the cool storage material within the inclined cool storage materialcontainer 16 is equal to or higher than 90% the vertical height of aedge portion of the cool storage material container 16 located on theside toward the inclination direction, and desirably, the height of theliquid level of the cool storage material within the inclined coolstorage material container 16 is equal to the vertical height of theedge portion of the cool storage material container 16 located on theside toward the inclination direction.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show modifications of the cool storage materialcontainer.

In the case of a cool storage material container 40 shown in FIG. 10, anoutward extending portion 41, which extends from the front edge of thecontainer body portion 21 and projects frontward (downstream) inrelation to the front edges of the front refrigerant flow tubes 13, iscomposed of a base portion 42 and a plurality of projection portions 43.The dimensions of the base portion 42 in the vertical and left-rightdirections are equal to those of the container body portion 21. Theprojection portions 43 are provided on the base portion 42 such that theprojection portions 43 are spaced from one another in the verticaldirection, and are bulged outward from the base portion 42 in theleft-right direction. The projection portions 43 assume an oblong shape,and are inclined downward toward the front side, as viewed from theouter side with respect to the left-right direction. The dimension ofthe projection portions 43 of the outward extending portion 41 in theleft-right direction is equal to a value obtained by adding thedimension of the container body portion 21 of the cool storage materialcontainer 40 in the left-right direction to the tube height, which isthe dimension of each refrigerant flow tube 13 in the left-rightdirection.

The outward extending portion 32 of the corresponding outer fin 17 isbrazed to projecting end surfaces of the projection portions 43 of theoutward extending portion 41.

The first bulging portion 26 bulging rightward is provided over aportion of the right-hand-side aluminum plate 24, which constitutes thecool storage material container 40, the portion forming the containerbody portion 21; i.e., the greater portion of the right-hand-sidealuminum plate 24 excluding a front portion thereof. Also, a secondbulging portion 44 is provided over a portion of the right-hand-sidealuminum plate 24 forming the outward extending portion 41; i.e., thefront portion of the right-hand-side aluminum plate 24, such that thesecond bulging portion 44 extends over the entire length in the verticaldirection. The second bulging portion 44 extends frontward from thefirst bulging portion 26, bulges rightward, and has a bulging heightequal to that of the first bulging portion 26. Furthermore, by means ofdeforming the bulging top wall of the second bulging portion 44, aplurality of third bulging portions 45 bulging rightward in relation tothe second bulging portion 44 are provided on the bulging top wall ofthe second bulging portion 44 such that they are spaced from one anotherin the vertical direction. The left-hand-side aluminum plate 25, whichconstitutes the cool storage material container 40, has a shape which isa mirror image of the shape of the right-hand-side aluminum plate 24,and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The structure of the remaining portion is identical with that of thecool storage material container 16 of the above-described embodiment.

In the case of a cool storage material container 50 shown in FIG. 11, astaggered inner fin 51 made of aluminum and extending from the rear endof the container body portion 21 to the front end of the outwardextending portion 22 is disposed in the cool storage material container50 such that the inner fin 51 extends over substantially the entiretythereof in the vertical direction. The inner fin 51 is composed of aplurality of corrugated strips 52, each of which has crest portions 52 aextending in the front-rear direction (air-passing direction), troughportions 52 b extending in the front-rear direction, and connectionportions 52 c connecting the crest portion 52 a and the trough portion52 b. The corrugated strips 52 are arranged in the air-passing directionand integrally connected with one another such that the crest portions52 a and the trough portions 52 b of one of two strips 52 adjacent toeach other in the front-rear direction are positionally shifted in thevertical direction from those of the other strip 52.

The structure of the remaining portion is identical with that of thecool storage material container 16 of the above-described embodiment.

In the case of a cool storage material container 60 shown in FIG. 12,through inward deformation of the left and right side walls of the coolstorage material container 60, an internal-volume reducing portion 61for reducing the internal volume of the cool storage material container60 is formed at a lower portion of the container body portion 21, thelower portion being located upstream of the center of the clearancebetween the front and rear refrigerant flow tubes 13. The dimension ofthe internal-volume reducing portion 61 in the left-right direction issmaller than the dimension of the container body portion 21 in theleft-right direction. Thus, the internal volume of the cool storagematerial container 60 decreases, as compared with the case where theinternal-volume reducing portion 61 is not provided. The amount by whichthe internal volume of the cool storage material container 60 is reducedby the internal-volume reducing portion 61 is determined such that thecool storage material exists in the vicinity of the upper end of thecool storage material container 60, even when the cool storage materialcharging ratio (the ratio of the volume of the charged cool storagematerial to the internal volume of the sealed internal space of the coolstorage material container 60) for an assumed case where theinternal-volume reducing portion 61 is not provided (that is, thethickness of the container body portion 21 in the left-right directionis constant over the entirety thereof) is 70 to 90%, preferably, 70 to80%.

The internal-volume reducing portion 61 is provided by means of forminga recess portion 62, which is formed through inward deformation of thebulging top wall 26 a of the first bulging portion 26 of each of the twoaluminum plates 24 and 25 constituting the cool storage materialcontainer 60.

Furthermore, at a location where the internal-volume reducing portion 61is provided, the inner fin 29 deforms in a buckled shape, so that thestrength of the cool storage material container 60 decreases at alocation thereof where the internal-volume reducing portion 61 isprovided. However, the cool storage material container 60 is designed tohave a sufficient strength such that, within an ordinary temperaturerange (e.g., −40 to 90° C.) of use environment, the cool storagematerial container 60 does not break even when the internal pressureincreases because of a change in the density of the cool storagematerial in the liquid phase and thermal expansion of air remaining inthe cool storage material container 60.

In the case of the cool storage material container 60, a portion of thecontainer body portion 21 located frontward of the internal-volumereducing portion 61 and being in contact with the front refrigerant flowtubes 13 are brazed to the refrigerant flow tubes 13 over the entireheight.

What is claimed is:
 1. An evaporator with a cool storage function inwhich a plurality of vertically extending flat refrigerant flow tubesare disposed in parallel such that their width direction coincides withan air-passing direction and they are spaced from one another,air-passing clearances are formed such that each air-passing clearanceis provided between adjacent refrigerant flow tubes, a cool storagematerial container filled with a cool storage material is disposed in atleast one of the air-passing clearances, and outer fins are disposed inthe remaining air-passing clearances, wherein the cool storage materialcontainer includes a container body portion joined to the correspondingrefrigerant flow tubes, and an outward extending portion which extendsfrom a downstream-side edge of the container body portion and projectsdownstream in relation to the refrigerant flow tubes; an outer findisposed in an air-passing clearance adjacent to the air-passingclearance in which the cool storage material container is disposed has afin body portion joined to the corresponding refrigerant flow tubes, andan outward extending portion which extends from a downstream-side edgeof the fin body portion body and projects downstream in relation to therefrigerant flow tubes; and the outward extending portion of the outerfin is in contact with a corresponding side surface of the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container.
 2. Anevaporator with a cool storage function according to claim 1, whereineach of the outer fins disposed in air-passing clearances located onopposite sides of the air-passing clearance in which the cool storagematerial container is disposed has the fin body portion and the outwardextending portion; and the outward extending portions of the outer finsare in contact with the opposite side surfaces of the outward extendingportion of the cool storage material container.
 3. An evaporator with acool storage function according to claim 1, wherein the outwardextending portion of the cool storage material container bulges over theentire length in the vertical direction, the outward extending portionbulging outward in relation to the container body portion with respectto a direction along which the refrigerant flow tubes are arrayed; andthe outward extending portion has a dimension in a thickness directionthereof greater than a dimension of the container body portion in athickness direction thereof.
 4. An evaporator with a cool storagefunction according to claim 1, wherein the outward extending portion ofthe cool storage material container has a base portion whose dimensionin a thickness direction thereof is equal to a dimension of thecontainer body portion in a thickness direction thereof, and a pluralityof projecting portions which are provided on the base portion such thatthe projecting portions are spaced from one another in the verticaldirection and which bulge outward from the base portion with respect toa direction along which the refrigerant flow tubes are arrayed.
 5. Anevaporator with a cool storage function according to claim 1, whereinthe outward extending portion of the corresponding outer fin is brazedto the outward extending portion of the cool storage material container.6. An evaporator with a cool storage function according to claim 1,wherein the cool storage material container is composed of two metalplates whose peripheral edge portions are joined together; and thecontainer body portion and the outward extending portion of the coolstorage material container are provided by means of outward bulging atleast one of the two metal plates.
 7. An evaporator with a cool storagefunction according to claim 1, wherein an inner fin extending from thecontainer body portion to the outward extending portion of the coolstorage material container is disposed in the cool storage materialcontainer.
 8. An evaporator with a cool storage function according toclaim 7, wherein the inner fin assumes a corrugated shape, and has crestportions extending in the air-passing direction, trough portionsextending in the air-passing direction, and connection portionsconnecting the crest portions and the trough portions.
 9. An evaporatorwith a cool storage function according to claim 7, wherein the inner finassumes a staggered shape, and is composed of a plurality of corrugatedstrips, each of which has crest portions extending in the air-passingdirection, trough portions extending in the air-passing direction, andconnection portions connecting the crest portion and the trough portion,the corrugated strips being arranged in the air-passing direction andintegrally connected with one another such that the crest portions andthe trough portions of one of two strips adjacent to each other in theair-passing direction are positionally shifted in the vertical directionfrom those of the other strip.
 10. An evaporator with a cool storagefunction according to claim 1, wherein the container body portion of thecool storage material container is brazed to the correspondingrefrigerant flow tubes; and grooves are formed in portions of outersurfaces of the container body portion of the cool storage materialcontainer, which portions are brazed to the corresponding refrigerantflow tubes.
 11. An evaporator with a cool storage function according toclaim 10, wherein the grooves formed in each of the portions of theouter surfaces of the container body portion of the cool storagematerial container, which portions are brazed to the correspondingrefrigerant flow tubes, form a grid.
 12. An evaporator with a coolstorage function according to claim 1, comprising a plurality ofrefrigerant flow tube sets each including a plurality of flatrefrigerant flow tubes disposed such that their width directioncoincides with the air-passing direction and they are spaced from oneanother in the air-passing direction; and the container body portion ofthe cool storage material container is disposed to extend over all therefrigerant flow tubes of the corresponding set, and is joined to therefrigerant flow tubes.
 13. An evaporator with a cool storage functionaccording to claim 1, wherein the container body portion of the coolstorage material container has an internal-volume reducing portion whichis formed through partial inward deformation of a wall of the coolstorage material container and which reduces an internal volume of thecool storage material container.
 14. An evaporator with a cool storagefunction according to claim 13, wherein the internal-volume reducingportion of the container body portion of the cool storage materialcontainer is configured to bulge due to an increase in internal pressurewhen the internal-volume reducing portion is exposed to a hightemperature exceeding a temperature range of use environment.
 15. Anevaporator with a cool storage function according to claim 1, wherein acool storage material charging ratio, which is the ratio of the volumeof the charged cool storage material to the internal volume of the coolstorage material container is 70 to 90%.
 16. An evaporator with a coolstorage function according to claim 15, wherein the cool storagematerial charging ratio is 70 to 80%.
 17. An evaporator with a coolstorage function according to claim 1, wherein each of the refrigerantflow tubes in thermal contact with the cool storage material containerhas a plurality of refrigerant flow channels which are arranged in thewidth direction of the refrigerant flow tube and are separated from oneanother by partitions; and a relation 0.1≦t≦0.4 and a relation0.64≦h/H≦0.86 are satisfied, where t represents a thickness (mm) of eachpartition, h represents a height (mm) of each partition, and Hrepresents a tube height (mm), which is a dimension of each refrigerantflow tube in a thickness direction thereof.
 18. An evaporator with acool storage function according to claim 17, wherein a relation0.07≦(n×t)/W≦0.31 is satisfied, where n represents the number of thepartitions of each refrigerant flow tube, and W represents a width (mm)of each refrigerant flow tube.
 19. An evaporator with a cool storagefunction according to claim 17, wherein the tube height H of eachrefrigerant flow tube is 12 to 25 mm, and the width W of eachrefrigerant flow tube is 1.3 to 3.0 mm.